Fake News :“The ban makes it easier to muzzle the free press”, said the Editors Guild of India
Since the media started working under the ‘aid’ of the government, the fake news has increased. In India, the spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media is posing a severe social problem as it is feeding the toxic online atmosphere, sparking riots and even lynching on the roads. Some politicians have to delete their tweets after realizing they had posted fake news.
Recently, the government has decided to ban any news that it determines to be “false” on social media in an attempt to regulate the media.
The draft would prohibit any information deemed to be “fake or false” by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), by any other agency that the government has approved for fact-checking, or “by its department in which such business is transacted.”
EGI is deeply concerned by amendment to IT Rules 2021 made by MEITY, giving authority to PIB to determine veracity of news reports, and directing online intermediaries and social media platforms to take down content deemed as ‘fake’. Guild feels this is akin to censorship. pic.twitter.com/uy49cOwTcT
— Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) January 18, 2023
The statement issued by the Editors Guild of India(EGI) said, “At the outset, determination of fake news cannot be in the sole hands of the government and will result in the censorship of the press,” voicing it’s “deep concern” over the draft amendment to the Information Technology (IT) Rules.
“This new procedure basically serves to make it easier to muzzle the free press, and will give sweeping powers to the PIB, or any ‘other agency authorized by the Central government for fact checking’, to force online intermediaries to take down content that the government may find problematic,” the Guild said.
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Social media sites or other “online intermediaries” would have to “make reasonable steps” to make sure users don’t “host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share” such information once it has been identified as such, it added.
In October, The government announced that a panel would be established to hear user complaints about social media companies’ content moderation decisions. These companies are already required to appoint Internal Grievance Redressal officers and executives to work with law enforcement officials.
The Central government has fought with several platforms over false news over the last few years.
Six YouTube channels were recently named by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) for “working in a coordinated manner and spreading false information” regarding the government and elections.
Six YouTube channels that were mentioned in an official statement by the Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) Fact Check Unit are: Nation TV, Samvaad TV, Sarokar Bharat, Nation 24, Swarnim Bharat, and Samvaad Samachar.
One of the following YouTube Channels named Samvaad Tv and Samvaad Samachar is promoting Bharat Jodo Yatra and Rahul Gandhi’s statements against the Modi Government.
Independent media is not dependent on any government agency, or political party but nowadays many media organizations rely on government advertisements as their main source of revenue.
Giving censorship rights to PIB tampers with the freedom of press. Many media channels criticize the government policies and hold the government accountable.. Will the government ban these channels and control the media organization by taking away its freedom to criticize?
